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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Chengdu Could Not Would Not Fall Asleep { a Children's Book Review and Paper Plate Panda Craft}

"Today's review of the children's book Chengdu contains affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase we will receive compensation. A complimentary copy of the book Chengdu was provided to us for reviewing . All of the opinions shared here are our own. "

I love to read and love sharing that with children. We recently reviewed the new children's book Chengdu Could Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg. Chengdu is recommend for children ages 3-5 years old. I shared this book with my son who is five, and then we read it with his preschool class who are 4-5 years old. The book was a hit and I'm excited to tell you what everyone thought about it.

ChengduCould Not, Would Not, Fall Asleep

By Barney Saltzberg

On Sale: 4/8/14

Age: 3–5

Price: $16.99

ISBN: 142316721X

Imprint: Disney-Hyperion

High in his tree a young panda named Chengdu lies awake, even though everyone around him is quietly sleeping. He tosses and he turns. He scrunches and he squirms. But it's not until he finds the perfect spot—atop his brother, Yuan—that he finds rest. But now Yuan can't sleep.

Barney Saltzberg (barneysaltzberg.com) is an author/illustrator/singer/songwriter who has published close to 30 children's books. He studied art at Sonoma State College in Northern California and later took a class at Otis/Parsons in Children's Book writing and illustrating where he created his first book, It Must Have Been the Wind. He has also recorded two albums for children, Where, Oh, Where's My Underwear? and, The Soccer Mom From Outer Space. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

What did we think?
Chengdu was a hit with both our preschool class and my five year old son. We loved the fold out pages and illustrations. The fold out pages were a great way to get the children to interact with the story. The children's favorite pages were the ones that were only the panda's eyes. These pages encouraged a great classroom discussion about the story. I love to here those wheels turning in their little minds. This book has good flow, great pictures and the kids really seemed to enjoy it.

Make a Paper Plate Panda Bear as an extension to the story.

paper plate

black construction paper circles

google eyes

craft stick

glue stick

black sharpie

Cut out 2 round pieces for ears,1 nose and 2 round eyes all in black. Give the children a white paper plate and glue stick. Have them glue on the black pieces of paper for eyes, ears and a nose. Then glue 2 google eyes onto the black circle eyes. After all of the pieces are glued on your paper plate craft is finished except for a mouth. Take a black sharpie marker and draw one from the nose . If you'd like you can glue your plate to a craft stick to make it more of a mask or for the children to hold up during story times.